New SideWinder gaming mouse from Microsoft

The SideWinder line from Microsoft has just been revived, and this time the announcement was made at the German Games Convention in Leipzig. The world will soon receive the SideWinder gaming mouse that was built from ground up – which means you won’t find any semblance of collaboration on Microsoft’s part with Razer in this new mouse. Is this a good or a bad thing? After all, Razer is well known for conjuring pieces of phenomenal gaming hardware that actually pushes the gamer towards the Utopian point of perfection. Will Microsoft succeed or fail with this new SideWinder? Only time will tell when it hits the market and consumers vote with their wallets, but in the mean time let us take a look at the SideWinder’s specifications after the jump.

The SideWinder mouse boasts a futuristic design that looks rather otherworldly and not like a traditional mouse at all. Then again, you know that a mouse is extremely special when it comes with its own LCD display on the left hand side which actually shows the current DPI settings which aims to help users when recording macros. There is also a button that allows direct launching of Windows Vista’s Games Explorer, although that doesn’t make the SideWinder a “must buy” item. It is still a nice touch though.

Macros will be able to be recorded during gameplay itself by simply pressing another button on the mouse which clearly gives the advantage over an opponent who doesn’t deal with macro-enhanced hardware. Microsoft has even included a “Quick Turn” macro that lets players run a full 360 degree scan of their perimeter in FPS titles. Don’t be blown away by this though – in a deathmatch, my experience tells me that two skilled players basically know where the other person is at the moment. Remember the good old days of Quake in DM6 or DM4? You don’t really need that macro, but I believe beginners will find this handy as they fumble along the map. The Microsoft SideWinder will be released this October for $79.95.